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Revolution return to final
Extra-time goal from Noonan propels 10-man Revs past 9-man RailHawks
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Former teammates Connally Edozien of Carolina and the Revs’ Shalrie Joseph were sent off after this near-fight late in the first half. 8 yellows and 3 reds were shown that night.
Photo by Tony Biscaia / RevsNet.com |
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Pat Noonan’s goal in the fourth minute of extra time was enough to earn the New England Revolution their second trip to the U.S. Open Cup final with a 2-1 win over the Carolina RailHawks. The visitors struck first in the 6th minute when Anthony Maher scored on a pass from Johnny Steele. New England would equalize in first-half stoppage time, as Jeff Larentowicz tallied on a diving header on an assist from Noonan.
Prior to the Revs equalizer, Carolina’s Connolly Edozien and New England’s Shalrie Joseph were both sent off when a fight nearly broke out between the two teams. Reckless and unpunished fouls on both sides peaked after a foul committed by Avery John on Carolina's Johnny Steele, led to some pushing and shoving that escalated and saw the two former teammates ejected in the 42nd minute.
The game was marred with eight yellow cards and after Carolina defender David Stokes was sent off in the 80th minute, that brought the red card total to three.
Noonan would prove to be the hero for New England, scoring the game-winner four minutes into extra time on an assist from rookie Adam Cristman.
Despite playing a man down for the last ten minutes of regulation and through all 30 minutes of extra time, the RailHawks continued to hang on and nearly equalized on a frantic corner kick play in the dying seconds of the match. Chad Dombrowski’s header on goal forced Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis to dive to his left to make the save, and to send New England to the championship game.
The Revolution will aim for their first trophy in team history when they face FC Dallas in the Open Cup final. The match will be played October 3rd at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, TX.
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